Brandel Chamblee – “I think Thomas Bjorn has taken the sort of philosophy that you may lose the battle and win the war. To get four of his five rookies out in the first session… you do need to get them out there. And to some extent he had the luxury of having some very talented players. I’m a little bit surprised that Sergio Garcia is sitting.”

Justin Leonard – “Not a lot of surprises on the American side, but a few surprises on the European side… I don’t think Thomas Bjorn is trying to get his rookies experience. I think he’s trying to get off to a good start in this Ryder Cup. These are the [pairings] he feels like he can get off to a good start [with].”

Frank Nobilo – “America is a phenomenal side. [To use a] boxing analogy, they have a better jab and a bigger punch. The only thing you can debate is their chin – [their] grit or their heart. Europe has got to rely on somebody you don’t expect to step up. You need things to happen.”

Leonard – “I think that the European players and captain Bjorn see a real strength of the American side being with the driver. So they’re trying to negate that as much as possible by the setup here. This is a ‘get it in play off the tee’ golf course, then attack with your second shots.”

On Match #1

Chamblee – “We’re going to find out real quickly just how important it is to drive it in the fairway. You’ve got a couple of guys that can hit it nine miles on the U.S. team and the odds are that they’re going to be able to make a lot of birdies… But Tony Finau is the least accurate driver outside of Thorbjorn Olesen in this entire competition, and Brooks Koepka is not a sure bet to hit 50% of the fairways.”

Nobilo – “You do have four of the most dynamic drivers of the golf ball, whether they be straight or long. You have to favor the Europeans, purely on world ranking. Plus we will see if the homefield advantage goes their way.”

Chamblee – “The U.S. team – on paper – is playing the best fourball team that you could possibly put up. No surprise here. Europe does their homework. They know how important that first match is. They always lead with their best team on paper, and they did it.”

On Match #2

Chamblee – “There are no players here that are not worthy of these spots, but If I’m looking at who has the most pressure on them of every single player that’s been picked so far, there’s no question to me it’s Thorbjorn Olesen. He has played this golf course seven times. He’s only played the weekend twice. He is by far the least accurate driver in this field. This was to me the biggest surprise. How you do not support McIlroy with a Poulter or a Noren or a Garcia… To put him out there with a rookie who is going to struggle to find fairways and who has struggled on this golf course.”

Nobilo – “If they can turn a 28-year-old Dane into a superstar for a week, then all of a sudden that can be the difference.”

On Match #3

Nobilo – “I’ve got to go advantage America here. Right now Jordan needs a bit of a spark. Who better to get that from than a No. 4 in the world who you’ve known for so many years… Hatton has had a phenomenal last two years, but he’s very temperamental. The French crowd could actually get to him.”

Chamblee – “This was a shocker to me. I don’t know how you put out Tyrrell Hatton in a fourball. He makes the fewest birdies of anyone in this competition. He’s temperamental. Moody. The slightest thing could set him off. [Spieth/Thomas] have the potential to go forward and do exactly what Seve and Jose Maria Olazabal did.”

On Match #4

Chamblee – “It is the rare player than can breathe in Tiger Woods’ atmosphere. Patrick Reed appears to be that player. He’s the guy that’s crazy enough to walk out on a Sunday in a red shirt with black pants. You look at the players that play well with Tiger historically, they’ve been demure. I don’t think anybody is going to say Patrick Reed is [that].”